Boulder County has its first all-women board of commissioners

BOULDER -- For the first time in Boulder County's 151-year history, all the members of its Board of County Commissioners are women.

Elise Jones, the newest member of the governing board, took her oath of office and her seat Tuesday morning, joining Commissioners Cindy Domenico and Deb Gardner.

Jones noted the all-female makeup of the panel later Tuesday morning, in her remarks to the residents and county staffers gathered for the swearing-in. She said Boulder County's all-female county board "says something important about equality and opportunity for everyone."

Said Jana Mendez, a county commissioner from 1995 through 2003: "It was a long time coming."

The 68-year-old Mendez, who now lives in Longmont, said she was hoping that Boulder County would one day have an all-women board, and "I'm glad I lived to see it."

Mendez and former Commissioners Josie Heath and Margaret "Maggie" Markey joined Domenico, Gardner and Jones for a luncheon celebration later Tuesday. Another former commissioner, Linda Jourgensen, could not attend but chatted with the others on a speaker phone.

"I guess I'm not surprised," said Markey, adding that the all-women board was bound to happen eventually.

Markey, 77, served on the Boulder County board from 1974 through 1981and is now a Castle Pines resident.

"This is historic," said Heath, a 75-year-old Boulder resident who served on the county board from 1982 through 1990 and now is president of the Community Foundation Serving Boulder County.

Heath said of the three women now on the board: "Not one of them is a token. These are accomplished, capable professionals." Mendez agreed, saying, "They're all smart and caring and bright and talented."

Boulder resident Jones -- who until recently was the executive director of the Colorado Environmental Coalition -- succeeds Commissioner Will Toor in the county board's District 1 seat after having won election in November. Toor, who served eight years on the board, was term-limited and could not seek re-election.

Longmont resident Gardner, an accountant, was appointed to fill a vacancy in the board's District 2 seat a year ago after Commissioner Ben Pearlman resigned to become Boulder County attorney. Gardner won election to a full four-year term in November.

Lafayette resident Domenico, who represents District 3 on the board, is midway through a four-year term. She was Boulder County assessor before being appointed in July 2007 to fill the seat vacated by Commissioner Tom Mayer's death. She won election to the rest of Mayer's term in 2008 and won re-election in 2010.

Elise Jones is sworn in as a Boulder County Commissioner by Chief Boulder District judge Roxanne Balin at the Boulder County Courthouse in Boulder on Tuesday. (Paul Aiken / The Daily Camera)

Domenico, Gardner and Jones all are Democrats, as is Toor.

"I'm very excited" about working with both Jones and Domenico, Gardner said before Tuesday's meeting. She said the trio already has begun discussions of "strategic visioning" for what they'd like to see in county government's future.

Domenico, who was named by Jones and Gardner to continue as the board's chairwoman for the coming year, said that while Boulder County reportedly wasn't the first Colorado county to have an all-female board, it's believed to be the only one currently.

Domenico said that while she's also excited about serving with Jones and Gardner, she doesn't want to downplay the experiences she's had when two males -- Toor and Pearlman -- held the other two board seats.

"I really respect the colleagues I've served with," Domenico said.

Before the official swearing-in ceremonies witnessed by a standing-room-only crowd in downtown Boulder's old County Courthouse, Toor reviewed highlights from his eight years on the board. Toor starts work Friday as the director of transportation programs for the Boulder-based Southwest Energy Efficiency Project.

After Chief Boulder County District Judge Roxanne Bailin administered the oaths of office to Jones and Gardner, Domenico and Gardner delivered a "State of the County" presentation, reviewing what they said had been county government accomplishments during the past year.

Jones, meanwhile, said she looks forward to working with the other two board members on such Boulder County issues and challenges as oil-well fracking, climate change, the need for transit improvements, achieving healthy and sustainable food production on lands farmers lease from the county, and addressing problems like school students' achievement gaps and people who are living in poverty.

Deb Gardner shakes Chief Boulder District judge Roxanne Bailin's hand at the Boulder County Courthouse in Boulder after she was sworn in as a Boulder County Commissioner on Tuesday.
(Paul Aiken / The Daily Camera)